Naruto of the Five Elements
by Sage of Seals
Summary: After a particularly hard beating, the Kyuubi grants a six-year old Naruto a gift, giving him five facets of himself in his subconscious, each representing a different element. Fire, water, earth, air, and lightning; all wait to reveal themselves...
1. Prologue

Aloha, mes amigos!

(I don't speak Spanish)

Anyway, my muse got drunk and just wouldn't shut up, so here it is: my third fanfic! For more, just go down to the AN at the bottom. In the meantime, enjoy the show!

Prologue

The setting sun beat down on a small alley as a young boy ran through, tears pouring down his face. Behind him, a mob followed, faces twisted into contortions of hatred. Sticks and rocks were thrown at the young blond, and he flinched as he was pelted with the objects, but he kept running.

"Get the brat!"

"Kill the demon!"

"Get him now!"

_Why? What have I ever done to them?_ Ignorant of the answers to his questions the young blond ran on. As night fell, though, he grew tired, and rounded a corner to find-

A dead end.

Naruto glanced around frantically as he searched for an escape route. Up? No, the roof was too high and there were no ledges to climb up on. Back where he had come from? Familiar shouts reached his ears. No, he couldn't go back. Before he could consider anything else, though, the men who were chasing him came around the corner and spotted him.

"GET HIM NOW!"

As the mob rounded on him, faces flickering in the pale moonlight, Naruto felt himself frozen on the spot as a sick terror descended upon him. Horrified, he could only stare as the mob came rushing at him. He tensed, preparing for the worst.

And it came.

Screaming soundlessly, Naruto's body contorted as he was kicked in the side. He twisted and threw up on the ground only to catch a yelp as the knee of one of his assailants caught him in the gut. Mentally and physically paralyzed, he could only watch and take it as the villagers took out their hatred and insanity on the boy in front of them. Pain wracked his body, muffling the sobs that came between attacks. He vomited: black bile rushed up his throat as another villager came up to him and kicked him in the groin. He screamed again as he saw a knife coming towards him, he was gonna die, he was gonna die, -

He blinked. The pain never came.

In front of him, calmly standing and holding one of the villagers at bay, was a man, a ninja by the headband he wore and an ANBU by the _Inu_ (Dog) mask on his face. From his position behind the man, Naruto saw silver-white hair sticking up from beneath the mask.

"ENOUGH! What is going on here?"

The villagers froze. That voice. I-it couldn't be! But, there he was: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, standing right there before them. And he was pissed.

Several villagers fainted with damp spots over their crotches.

"Kakashi," Sarutobi began quietly, not trusting himself to reveal his emotions, "You will take young Naruto here to the hospital and make sure he is taken care of." The ANBU nodded in affirmative and leapt away.

"As for you," the Hokage spat as the villagers quaked in their boots, "I expected better of you. That _child_ is a hero, and he carries a weight greater than you will ever know! I am disgusted."

"B-but Hokage-sama! H-he is just a demon, after all-" The man was cut off with a kunai to the shoulder. He collapsed, bleeding onto the ground.

"ANBU!" Sarutobi snapped. Two masked shapes immediately appeared behind him. "Take them to Ibiki." The faces of the villagers immediately paled.

"Hai," the two ninja said together. The Hokage only watched, disgusted as he watched the two ninja speed off. _Konoha, have you really fallen so far? What would Minato say?_ He sighed; his old age was certainly catching up to him. One thing was certain, though: he had to make sure Naruto was all right.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Shapes flashed before Naruto's eyes as he and the ANBU sped off towards Konoha hospital. Dark shadows drifted across the backs of his eyelids as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Seeing the light of the building, Kakashi immediately sped up and burst into the lobby.

"Quick! He needs medical attention!" the ANBU said as he proffered the child to a nurse. She walked over, but recoiled when she saw Naruto.

"Are you crazy? That's the demon child. I could never-" She was cut off as Kakashi slammed her against the wall, holding Naruto in his other hand.

"Enough," Kakashi began, and the sound chilled the blood of all those around him. "This child has just been beaten within an inch of his life and requires healing. You will be supervised at all times to assure that there is no negligence on your part. If you do _anything_ to sabotage his health, I _will_ kill you. Do you understand me?" With that, he released her, leaving her to splutter intensively as she hit the floor.

"H-hai ANBU-san." With one last terrified glance at the ninja and the boy, she grabbed Naruto and ran off toward a room to get the boy to a futon. Kakashi sighed in relief; it was a good thing she was easily frightened. He didn't want to do anything he might later regret. He closed his eyes, and melted into the shadows, moving calmly towards Naruto's room. Once there, he found the boy sleeping soundly, though his body was occasionally wracked by coughs of blood. With a start, he realized he wasn't the only one in the room.

"H-hokage-sama!"

"Hello Kakashi**." **The Hokage's face turned grave as he turned toward his subordinate**,** "Thank you for getting him here so quickly. If we had waited-," he paused, and let the implications hang in the air. Kakashi felt sick to his stomach. How could anyone be so horrible? He hadn't realized he'd asked that out loud until the Hokage answered him.

"I do not know, Kakashi," the Sandaime said as he turned to peer out the window. He sighed. "These people hold nothing but fear and hatred in their hearts when there should be hope and respect. I fear for this village not for its safety, but for its heart. Who are we when we attack a young child and leave him for death?" Sarutobi looked up at the stars. _You would be ashamed of me, Minato. _He turned and a soft groan came from the bed. Smiling, the Hokage moved toward the young boy.

"Mmmmmm? Wherem I?"

Sarutobi chuckled; the boy was certainly amusing in his antics. Letting his eyes turn warm, he looked down at the blond lying in front of him. "It's all right Naruto," he began soothingly. "There were some bad people, but they're gone now. You're safe."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes closed again and he turned over and hugged his pillow.

"Thanks ojii-san."

The Hokage smiled, and left the room, flanked by Kakashi. An ANBU would be placed outside the room tonight to guard against intruders. The door was closed quietly, and the two shinobi left, neither noticing the wisps of red chakra that were gathering around the boy.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto awoke in what appeared to be some kind of sewer. Red light glittered eerily on the surface of the water, dancing alluringly like a will-o-wisp. The trickling of water echoed throughout the hallway as Naruto trudged forward, neither knowing nor caring where he was. He walked, and he came upon a large room with a giant cage in front of him. The bars were gold and on the front was a paper with the kanji _fuuin_ (Seal). A menacing growl came from beyond the bars and a malevolent aura began to seep out. The boy stiffened, whatever this was, he needed to get away from it. Turning away, he was frozen in place as the feeling washed over him, and he collapsed to the ground.

"**So you are my container, boy**," a voice said. Naruto said nothing, curling up in a ball as a clawed hand reached out to grab him. He was taken up and raised until he saw two red eyes staring back at him-

And he knew fear.

"**It would appear that you have been attacked.**" The voice sounded amused. "**However, I cannot be seen with a **_**weak**_** container. Therefore, we must make some… adjustments.**" A single claw reached out and touched the boy's forehead. The instant the claw touched him, a rush of energy rocketed into Naruto. It felt like he was burning, like he was freezing, like he was being ripped apart- and it stopped.

"**Heh, it looks like you do have some fight in you. I haven't done anything like that for a thousand years.**" The voice stopped, sounding almost wistful. "**Feh, as if it matters. Now get out."** The clawed hand flung the boy forward and he was rushing toward the wall, he was gonna crash, he was gonna-

o-o-o-o-o-o

Crickets sounded throughout the night, as the moonlight peered through a window to shine on the face of one young blond. Suddenly, without warning, a wisp of red energy drifted across the windowsill.

And then all hell broke lose.

Streams of the red chakra began rushing out of Naruto, filling the room with their power. Throughout the chaos, one voice sounded, ancient and powerful.

"**Kaji."**

A flame broke out over the body, and the boy was wrapped in a dancing fire, though no burns appeared on his body.

"**Mizu."**

A light cloak of mist descended upon the boy and was absorbed into his skin, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

"**Tsuchi."**

A whirlwind of sand drifted in from the outside, as the soil drifted around the boy and settled onto his skin before disappearing in a flash.

"**Kaze."**

A torrent of winds blew through the window and the boy was lifted up into the air before being slammed back down on the ground.

"**Raikou."**

A jolt of lightning struck from the ceiling onto the boy's chest as he was wracked by uncontrollable spasms while streams of electricity danced their way across his torso.

Hearing the noise, the guard immediately rushed in, only to see all action immediately stop. Seeing the boy on the floor amidst the wreckage, the ninja wasted no time. "Call the Hokage!" he shouted, and immediately rushed off to find a nurse. Unknown to him, a light red aura surrounded the blond before vanishing, giving the small boy new breath as his chest heaved. He opened his eyes; they were still a shocking blue, but beyond that raged the destructive inferno, the deepest seas, the tallest mountains, the largest hurricanes, and the most destructive storms.

And with a final cough, Uzumaki Naruto closed his eyes and slept.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Deep in its cave, a chuckle rang out.

"**Uzumaki Naruto. You would do well to amuse me…"** Deep laughter rang out through the cave as five misty forms suddenly coalesced on the floor before the cage.

"**And amuse me you shall**."

o-o-o-o-o-o

AN: Hey guys, and welcome to my third fanfic! Anyways, welcome to _Naruto of the Five Elements_; I hope you enjoy it. Finally, I am obligated to thank my new beta, LonelyStalker, yadda yadda yadda-

LonelyStalker: **Excuse me?**

Sage of Seals: Uh, H-hey, man! Uh, shouldn't you be doing that French homework? Eh-heh…

LS: Dammit, tell them about the other stories.

SoS: Hey, all right… He's also helping me on my other stories _A Memory Long Lost_ and _The Curse of Immortality_. So, thanks man.

LS: (Leaves)

SoS: Whew, that was close… Anyway, don't forget to review! Just a one-word "Nice" or "Good job" are welcome. And don't hesitate to tell me what I'm doing wrong/right!

SoS, out!


	2. Chapter 1: And It Begins

AN: Hello, and welcome to the second installation of Naruto of the Five Elements! I'm really sorry that I haven't done anything for so long, so here's an extra-length chapter! 4.5k words in total! Lots o' developments in here, people, and the introduction of some characters (not OCs).

Enjoy!

o-o-o-o-o-o

Chapter 1

Naruto groaned. The sunlight streamed through the window, hitting the young blond directly on the face. He muttered darkly under his breath before turning over onto his other side.

"Well, Naruto, how are you feeling?"

Naruto opened his eyes, his mouth already pouting- why couldn't they let him sleep? - and stared up directly into the twinkling eyes of the Third Hokage.

"Jiji!" Sarutobi chuckled; the boy still had so much energy even after the events of last night. Ceasing his extreme glomping of the Hokage, Naruto looked up and turned his cerulean eyes towards the old man. "Thanks jiji, for saving me! Yeah, you're awesome! I want to be a ninja! I-"

As the young boy continued his ranting, the corners of the Sandaime's mouth turned up in a smile. Surely no other child could possibly posses this kind of energy but Naruto. Seeing the child suddenly cease his babble, he abruptly stopped his thoughts and turned his attention back to the small blond in front of him. As face immediately fell as he realized that Naruto was thinking of the events of the previous night.

"O-ojii-san, w-why did they attack me? I-i, I didn't do anything to them, right?" Sarutobi sighed as the boy's composure went from happy to remorseful and trembling. He mentally cursed the monsters that had done this to the otherwise happy-go-lucky boy: couldn't they see that this was the jailor, the keeper, the _hero_- and not the demon? He sighed again; sometimes the actions against this child made him question his loyalties to his village…

"No, Naruto, you did nothing wrong."

"B-but, why, Jiji? If I didn't do anything, then why do they-" He was stopped when the Hokage suddenly stood up from his position on Naruto's bed and looked at the boy sadly.

"I am sorry, Naruto, but I cannot tell you until you are older." Seeing the look in the blond's eyes, Sarutobi immediately knew that his answer wouldn't cut it. He knew he himself wouldn't have lived with it: he owed Naruto at least _that_ much. Unfortunately, he knew that the boy had to remain ignorant for his own safety, at least for now. Turning towards the door, he looked over his shoulder at Naruto. "Well, Naruto, it has come to my attention that you want to be a ninja. Is this true?" Seeing the boy nod vigorously, he allowed himself a small smile as he reached into his Hokage robes to pull out a small envelope, handing it to Naruto, who eyed it with a confused look on his face.

"That is an Academy acceptance letter, Naruto. Starting tomorrow, you will join the Konoha Ninja Academy and we'll see if you really are serious about becoming a shinobi." With that, the Sandaime Hokage swept out of the room, chuckling lightly.

Naruto remained staring at the envelope for a few moments more. Silently, he took his small finger and tore through the top of the letter, reaching inside for the paper inside. Perfectly still, he opened the letter and quietly read the inside as within him, an emotion slowly grew within him.

The boy sat there, unmoving for a few minutes until the magnitude of what he had just received reached his brain.

"YATTA!"

Several flocks of birds flew out of the trees as the Hokage continued his walk back to the Tower, a soft smile on his face.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto smiled cheerfully as he bounced away from the Hokage Tower. And why wouldn't he be happy? He had just found out that he was gonna be a ninja, a real one! One with super powerful moves, and a huge reputation, and princesses to save, and-

Wait, scratch that last one. Girls were icky.

Anyway, he continued on his way, not caring even when he bumped into a man who did nothing but glare and mutter "demon brat" under his breath. Naruto frowned. Why didn't people like him? Was he a bad person? His shoulders slumped, before he suddenly looked back up with a grin on his face.

"I know, I'll go to Ichiraku! I'll get some ramen!"

Chattering to himself about the wonders of ramen and momentarily forgetting his troubles, Naruto ran off to his favorite place in the village, Ichiraku Ramen.

o-o-o-o-o-o

As Naruto entered his small apartment, he patted his distended stomach softly. Maybe it _hadn't _been such a good idea to eat the eleventh bowl of ramen. Oh, well; he'd be fine by morning.

Walking toward his bed after shutting the door loudly, Naruto walked by his standing mirror when something caught his eye. He turned quickly and looked at his reflection; it looked like he was glowing red a little bit. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. The aura was gone. Naruto shrugged- he must have just been tired and imagined it; in any case, it didn't matter.

Stripping and changing into a pair of chibi-fox boxers, Naruto pulled the covers over his eyes and sighed contently. Yup, his life was starting to get exciting.

He had no idea how right he was.

As he closed his eyes and fell asleep, the Uzumaki turned softy as small sounds made themselves known. The wind through the trees, the rustling of leaves, and-

"…_the elements…"_

Naruto flopped over, groaning in his sleep…

"…_fox…"_

A breeze blew through the window, fluttering the curtains slightly…

"…_fire…"_

Naruto stirred as a shadow drifted across the tops of his eyelids…

"…_water…"_

As Naruto dreamed, a darkened figure slowly walked towards him…

"…_lightning…"_

The figure solidified into a tall man with dark red hair, staring up at the stars…

"…_earth…"_

The man looked down at Naruto, his eyes burning with unfathomable emotions…

"…_air…"_

The man opened his mouth wide and to Naruto's horror it transformed into a gigantic jaw, a huge fox looming over him, laughing malevolently as people screamed and ran. The fox slammed its tails on the ground before rushing towards Naruto, his gaping maw speeding towards him, casting darkness onto the ground. He screamed-

-And Naruto woke up, breathing heavily. He looked around frantically before taking deep breaths, calming himself as he slowly but surely felt his heartbeat begin to subside. _It was only a dream, it was only a dream…_ He felt himself breathe softer as he thought. _Jiji wouldn't let anything else bad happen to me, right?_ With his calm restored, Naruto closed his eyes once more and drifted off into a dreamless sleep, anticipating the beginning of his new life tomorrow at the Academy.

Deep in a cage, two blood-red eyes stared straight ahead as a growl reverberated through the halls of a sewer, five shadowed figures watching silently as the boy slept on.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

As the moonlight shone into the expanse of the Hokage's tower, Sarutobi paced back and forth, thinking of Naruto. The poor boy had done nothing- _nothing!_- and still the villagers attacked him. A smoldering flame rose within him as he pondered the inhumanity and bigotry of those who would dare beat a child. _They are the ones who are the demons, that is for sure._

Still, Sarutobi was glad that Naruto was joining the Shinobi Academy. Perhaps as a ninja at least, the blond would gain bonds and would be able to show himself as a hero and not the Kyuubi; at worst, at least the boy could learn to defend himself.

Yes, Naruto would have to learn to care for himself. But for now…

A fire danced in the old man's eyes as he raised his head to look out at the rising moon.

He had made a promise, and he intended to keep it.

_I swear it, Minato…_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The sun rose, beaming its rays onto one young blond's face. Under such scrutiny, Naruto squirmed, flipping onto his sides before yawning and rubbing his eyes. He slowly got out of bed, muttering under his breath while he went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Splashing water on his face, the six-year-old Uzumaki suddenly remembered the letter.

_Uzumaki Naruto_

_You have been accepted into the Shinobi Academy of Konohagakure no Sato. Classes begin daily at 8:30 AM, ending at 3:00 PM. Please come prepared and ready._

_Umino Iruka_

Suddenly stiffening, Naruto looked over at his clock.

**8:20**

"KUSO!"

Throwing on his clothes and goggles, the young blond sped out of the apartment, eager to begin his career as a ninja trainee.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sighing, Umino Iruka, chuunin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and teacher at the Konoha Shinobi Academy, suddenly felt a chill run up his spine. Glancing up at the small children sitting in the rows of seats, chattering excitedly, the scarred chuunin's eyes came to and passed each one of them… until he came to an empty seat. _Hmmm… I wonder who could be absent_, he thought, looking back down at the attendance list. Getting up, Iruka's eyes wandered down the paper as he viewed the names of his students for the next six years.

_Inuzuka Kiba, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino…_ Iruka froze upon seeing the next name. His musings were abruptly cut off as the bell rang loudly and a small, orange and yellow blur sped into the classroom, shouting excitedly. _Kuso_, cursed Iruka internally.

Uzumaki Naruto, universally despised outcast, and vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, was in his class.

_Oh, Kami, what have I done to deserve this?_ Iruka groaned. He didn't look forward to dealing with the brat for the next six years of his life.

"All right everyone, sit down and be quiet." The children, six-year-olds that they were, did the obvious thing in response to the chuunin's request. They ignored him and went right on talking. A vein on Iruka's forehead twitched.

"ALL RIGHT BRATS, SIT DOWN!" yelled Iruka, performing his patented "demon head no jutsu." Immediately, all of the brats- children, sorry- quieted down, sitting nervously in their seats.

"All right everyone, and welcome to your new lives as shinobi-in-training. For the next six years you will learn here as students to become ninja; following that, you will graduate to genin and will be eligible to perform missions." At this point, Iruka paused and looked around, daring anyone to interrupt. Satisfied at their cowed silence, he continued.

"You will learn many things, not least involving the history of the village, weapons techniques, and the basic "Academy Three." I will be your advisor and aide throughout all of this, but you must learn to take initiative yourselves. Now, any questions?" A student sneezed as another picked his nose. Another sat with his head upon his desk, lightly snoring. Iruka groaned; he had his work cut out for him.

"Now, I will hand out your textbooks…"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto fidgeted in his seat as his new sensei passed out the books for the year. He glanced quickly out the window, looking at the sun beaming down onto the Academy lawn. It wasn't fair! He wanted to be a kick-ass ninja, not some, some, _bookworm!_ Suddenly seeing a shadow fall across his desk, Naruto looked up to see his new teacher- _His name's Iruka-sensei, right?_ - standing in front of him. He didn't miss the flash of coldness in his teacher's eyes, but by now, he was used to it. Sometimes, he wished he could know _why_, but Hokage-jiji wouldn't tell him. He could still pretend though, wishing that people would acknowledge him for who he was. He knew that he would do whatever it took to accomplish that.

Little did he know, but Uzumaki Naruto had just made his first promise of a lifetime.

Inclining his head slightly as his teacher slammed the book down on his desk, Naruto stared blankly at the cover. He didn't know how to read, but at this point, he doubted anyone would care to help. Sighing, he opened it up and- of course. The inside was defaced anyway, making half impossible to read. He looked down at the floor, and then looked back up, staring at the board, face set like stone. He knew that they wanted him to cave in, but he wouldn't. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

A chill draft blew across the room, making a few students shiver slightly in their short-sleeved clothes. Iruka and his assistant, Mizuki raised their eyebrows and looked around in confusion.

Hm. They didn't remember leaving a window open.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

As Naruto walked home from school that day, he skipped happily, a smile plastered on his face. Sure, it was hard, and his sensei didn't exactly like him… but still! He was definitely gonna become a ninja!

Opening the door to his apartment and walking in, Naruto didn't notice as the lights flickered rapidly before he finally turned off the switch, ready for bed.

He didn't notice the shadowy shape that slipped through the gates either.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Looking around the Academy grounds as the students marched towards another day of school, Roshi Han smirked smugly, the sun's morning rays glinting off his scratched Iwa hitai-ate. He glanced upwards quietly, returning to his gloating as he observed the noticeable lack of any ANBU shinobi. _Those fools didn't even have anyone guarding the west gates! The _idiots_!_

The life of a missing-nin was anything but glamorous. Scrounging around for food and cash was not fun, and so many nukenin eventually got fed up with it. Some devoted their lives to gaining bounties, trying to earn themselves money to live another day. Others sold themselves off as mercenaries, as Momochi Zabuza had. Still others formed groups who went around destabilizing countries while raiding towns and civilians. However, Han was a special case. It was not often that one was offered the chance to rejoin another ninja village, and he intended to grasp this opportunity with both hands. It was simple: Kumo wished for him to pursue and obtain a target to bring back to Cloud as a show of goodwill.

The target?

Hyuuga Hinata.

Kumogakure no Sato had never truly given up on the ideal of the Byakugan and its powers. Admittedly, with the advent of a younger, more modern candidate for Raikage, things were starting to turn, but, for now, the Sandaime Raikage was still focused strong on obtaining the secrets of the Gentle Fist. Han almost laughed right then and there upon spying his prey: it was too easy! She was right there, sitting off by herself for Kami's sakes! Mentally chuckling over his good fortune and fingering a kunai, Roshi Han began to move.

Unbeknownst to him, a certain hyperactive blond ninja had already begun to move as well, and was moving over to sit with the Hyuuga heiress himself.

And unknown to all of them was that this was a day that would change destiny forever.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Humming happily as he sat down to eat his lunch, Uzumaki Naruto's smile faded somewhat as he looked at the slice of bread that was all he had to eat. Replacing his fake grin, he looked around, wondering if anyone would be willing to share. Suddenly, he spotted a blue-haired girl sitting on her own, near the end of the eating area. Grinning widely, he went over to the girl sitting there.

"Hey! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! What's your name?" Naruto smiled and held out his hand. Unfortunately, Hinata looked up and let out a small "eep" before turning back to her sandwich, blushing furiously.

"Neh?" asked Naruto, poking Hinata on the arm. "I asked you what your name was!" Hinata looked up over her shoulder and saw the grinning blond there, hand still outstretched.

"G-gomen, Naruto-san… m-my name is H-hyuuga H-hinata." Hinata prodded the tips of her fingers together as she looked at the boy in front of her.

"Nice to meet you, Hinata!" Naruto said, his hands behind his head. "Hey… not to be annoying or anything, but… will you share some of your sandwich with me?"

"O-of course Naruto-san."

In the shadows, a figure moved closer to the pair, hidden by the darkness between the trees. Or so he thought. Abruptly, a kunai flew out at him and he halted, standing stock-still. _No, I couldn't have been discovered!_

"Hey you! Come out of there now!" Iruka eyed the shape in the bushes suspiciously, another kunai cradled in his fingers. Behind him, Mizuki watched, ready to help if need be.

Swearing inwardly, Han moved swiftly out of the brush. He tried to smile non-threateningly and failed miserably. Cursing himself for not retreating as soon as he was discovered, the Iwa nukenin raised his hands slowly. "Hey, no trouble here, right?" Blinking, the teachers' eyes slowly raised themselves to the man's forehead- and froze. The scratched-out Iwa symbol was perfectly visible in the noon light. Iruka held in a breath. There was no way that they could deal with a missing-nin- not here, in the middle of the school day!

"Well, I really must thank you for your hospitality, but I must be off! Doton: Rensa no Tochi!"(1) As he called out his technique, streams of dirt burst from the soil, wrapping themselves around the young Hyuuga before snapping tight. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going now." Smirking, the nin picked up the bundle and sped off with Hinata slung over his shoulder. Coming to his sense, Iruka yelled out to Mizuki.

"Get ANBU and the Hokage! This is serious! We need to track this guy, now!" The silver-haired chuunin ran off, leaving the stunned and afraid students behind with Iruka.

No one had noticed that a certain blond student was missing.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Opening his eyes groggily, Naruto woke up slowly. He remember sitting with Hinata-chan- she had been really nice!- and then he remembered something constricting and then everything going dark- He tried to move his arm to push himself off the ground, and found he couldn't. In fact, it seemed like he couldn't move any of his limbs at all. _Kuso_, he thought bitterly. Turning his head slightly, he saw a strange man sitting by a fire which cast shadows over the walls of the cave that he now realized they were in. Water dripped down the sides of the walls as the firelight flickered eerily over the ground. In the corner, Naruto saw a small, dark bundle- one that was groaning softly. _Hinata!_ Naruto opened his mouth to call her name, but all that came out through the gag on his mouth was indecipherable. Starting, the strange man turned and Naruto saw that the man had a forehead protector. _A ninja?_ Suddenly, the man smiled, a facial expression that Naruto found that he didn't like at all.

"Well, it seems like our little stowaway has woke up." Han's eyes glittered in the dim light as he locked his gaze onto the young Uzumaki. Naruto squirmed uncomfortably. "I had only needed to take the little Hyuuga bitch, here, but imagine my surprise when I found I had brought along a guest for the ride." The smirk was replaced with a frown, the nukenin furrowing his eyebrows. When he spoke next, it was almost as if he spat out each word.

"When I saw _you_, I of course wanted to get rid of you. But of course, I realized that you'd be more use as a hostage or something. Imagine my surprise, though, when I remembered that, through my observations, _there was no one who cared_." Naruto's face darkened and he looked at the floor.

"But, then again, this opens up so many possibilities, don't you think?" Han's grin returned, feral and dangerous, as Naruto tried to curl in on himself for protection. "I'm pissed off, after all, that you brats had to be so loud and get the goddamn ANBU on my trail. So, to work off my stress, you and I are going to be… sparring buddies for a little while. How about it?" Laughing as he ignored the widening of Naruto's eyes, Han strode arrogantly toward the young demon container.

"Now, let's have some fun, shall we?"

Chuckling mirthlessly, the Iwa missing-nin picked Naruto up before throwing him against the wall, hard, getting a sharp gasp of pain out of the blond. Han picked him up again and then kneed him in the stomach mercilessly, prompting a sudden flood of bile from the child's mouth. Pausing only to step on or kick him, the ninja proceeded to punch, knee, or scratch the small child into a state of immense pain.

"Hm," said Han, frowning. "I coulda sworn that I hit you harder than that. Ah, well; just means more "therapy time" later, right? Throwing some sand onto the fire, the nin chuckled cruelly as he watched the flames die out.

Naruto twitched a few more times before finally succumbing to his injuries, passing into merciful oblivion.

_Naruto-kun_, thought one shy, blue haired kunoichi, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

The moon began to set.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

As he ran frantically in the direction that the missing-nin had taken off, Hyuuga Hiashi sweated. Normally a very calm man, he worried of the possible consequences of these actions. The last time that Hinata had been taken, they had risked war and his twin brother had been offered as a sacrifice to preserve the peace. Now, his daughter had been taken again. _His daughter_.

He had mainly ignored her, seeing her as growing up to be weak and soft-spoken. _And looking more and more like her mother._ He ignored the voice that whispered in his head as he remembered how he begun to distance himself from her after Hina had died. Unwanted feelings of guilt began to warn their way under his mental defenses.

He would stop to figure out his path later.

For now, he would focus on regaining Hinata.

His gaze hardened as he continued swiftly, face set like stone.

"ANBU-san, where does the path lead now?"

"Northeast, Hyuuga-sama."

Hiashi nodded almost imperceptibly as they sped off into the night.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto moaned a little in his sleep as reality started to return to the boy. He remembered… what? Fear, yeah. And then… pain. Darkness. His memories returned, hitting him like a sledgehammer, as he looked around frantically to look for Hinata, still bound tight.

Seeing her crumpled in that same corner made him wince internally, but at least it seemed that she wasn't hurt.

Silently grateful, Naruto passed out again.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Landing in a small clearing, Han was surprised- and pleased- that he hadn't been caught yet. He attributed it to the general incompetence of Leaf shinobi. Dropping his two parcels unceremoniously on the forest floor, he started to hide his pack. He'd be across the border tomorrow anyway, and he didn't want anyone finding his things.

Coming back to the site, he smirked as he saw the blond brat still struggling, as the Hyuuga girl just lay there, unmoving. He paused for a moment before a smirk grew on his face.

"Well, brats, I'd say that we'll be home free in a day, so, congratulations! You get to experience the wonders of Cloud!" Seeing the confused expression on the blond and the horrified one on the Hyuuga, Han continued.

"Well, I'd say it's about time for a little therapy, wouldn't you agree?" Han asked menacingly, cracking his knuckles, walking slowly to the brat, when-

"NO! Don't hurt Naruto-kun!" Panting from fear, Hinata's eyes grew clouded from fear as the shinobi suddenly stopped and moved in the opposite direction, looming over her.

"Well, little bitch, they did say you had to be there in good condition, but I doubt they'll mind a few scratches and bruises, neh? Especially since you managed to get out of my gag- good job by the way- and interrupt my fun time with gaki over there." Picking her up he threw her against a tree trunk and she let slid down the tree, coughing softly. Han walked closer over to her, smiling evilly. "Well, perhaps I can show you how to have a _little_ fun, huh?" He contemplated laughing as he watched the heiress begin to wiggle and breath frantically, terrified. He lived for moments like this.

Watching Hinata struggle uselessly, Naruto's eyes narrowed as he tried madly to think of a plan to escape and to help Hinata. Anxiously, he could only watch as the nin reached down slowly to grab Hinata, his face dripping with anticipation. Hinata let loose a half-hearted scream before he slapped her across the face, silencing her.

And then something inside Naruto snapped.

"AAUUGGHH!" screamed Naruto as blades of wind tore out from his body, tearing innumerable cuts on his skin but destroying his restraints. Hinata's assailant stopped dead in his tracks before turning around, and eyeing Naruto in wariness.

"**Nobody touches Hinata-chan." **Naruto stood up straight, the lacerations on his body dripping blood onto the ground. The nukenin could only watch in shock at the small child who had somehow managed to escape his bonds. Not only that but, his eyes… _shone_ with something… some kind of unbridled intensity. He resisted the urge to shudder in fear- it was a damn 6-year old brat after all! - and brought up a kunai to bear.

"I don't know what you are, kid, but it looks like I'm going to have to dispose of you." With that, Han brought out a few shuriken and threw them at the blond, only to freeze in amazement as the kid disappeared in a crackle of heat and energy. Naruto appeared behind him, thrusting his palms out to meet with his captor's back- and then it was over.

Twin streams of fire streamed out of his hands, burning and charring the ninja, who was killed instantly, his body covered in third-degree burns, two blackened handprints on his shoulder blades.

Seeing that Hinata was unconscious but unharmed, Naruto… lessened… and returned to normal, the cuts on his arms slowly healing. He gently closed his eyes, and slipped into unconsciousness once more.

He collapsed on the ground.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Seeing his daughter lying on the ground, blacked out, made Hiashi angry, but seeing her safe and unharmed made him almost let out a whoop of joy. Almost. This is Hyuuga Hiashi we're talking about, after all

Seeing the blond Uzumaki curled up several feet away, the clan head's lip curled in distaste. He had had no idea that that brat had been there, and frankly, if he didn't know that the Sandaime would have killed him if he left him, he would have. Grunting, he made to pick up his daughter- and stopped, gaping. In front of him lay a mangled mass of flesh, burned beyond all recognition. He thought he recognized the remains of an Iwa headband by the corpse. Cautiously, he moved closer, wondering who could have done this.

Peering slightly, he froze when he saw the two charred handprints on the man's back.

"Take my daughter and the Uzumaki. We're getting back to the village."

The ANBU nodded. "Hai."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

AN: Whew! That's done with!

Anyway, I had more fun than usual writing this. Maybe it's because I can actually start getting to the plot. Ah, well. Such is life.

Anyway, between school projects and sports, it's been really tough to get these out, so I'm offering a consolation gift. Expect at least two updates for my other stories as well as some new fics as well. this weekend (Yes, I know I'm too ambitious)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this.

Hasta!

- SoS


	3. Chapter 2: New Developments

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Chapter 2

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

As the boy came to- _for the second time in days!_- Sarutobi fumed silently. How could he have let such a thing escape his notice? Konoha, while not as well protected as Iwa or Kiri, was still a shinobi village, and it was almost embarrassing to think of how easily that missing-nin had gotten in!

Roshi Han. Former ninja of Iwagakure who had ran after attempting to steal valuable scrolls from the office of the Tsuchikage himself. Frankly, the man had been lucky to escape with his life- he was only supposed to be chuunin after all. It would be extremely humiliating if word got out.

The Hokage allowed himself a glance at the bed before him. The hospital was still quiet in the early morning, and only a few nurses stalked the halls. The sleeping Uzumaki breathed quietly, eyes closed as he recovered from his ordeal with the nukenin.

From the scrolls in the man's bag- it had been lying in a pit not yards from the corpse- it was pathetically easy to see that the shinobi had been paid off by Kumo. It came truly as a shock to the pacifistic old man, yet it had been half-expected. He had hoped that sending Hyuuga Hizashi's corpse to the Raikage would clear things up, but it had been, of course, an impossible hope. Shinobi do not give up- they simply try again, sneakier and quieter.

Kumo, of course, would not have given the nukenin a place in their village- no self-respecting kage would sink so low. Still, he had to admit grudgingly, it was a cunning plan. They could kidnap the Hyuuga heiress, gaining a powerful resource while flipping Sarutobi off to his face. And there would have been nothing he could do about it… nothing if not for what had evidently happened to the missing-nin.

The body had been found, almost burnt beyond recognition. Only the serial code on his _hitai-ate_ as well as documents in his pack had been able to identify him. It was what was present on the man, though, that worried him the most. If those hadn't been present, then there would have been no leads, none at all. It would have been possible that there was a fight, between two or more missing-nin, but… it was too unlikely. So, instead, there was one single lead.

The two child-sized handprints on Roshi's shoulder blades.

Sarutobi shivered. It had been those that had perplexed them the most. The man had had two _holes_, _burnt_ through him, coming out on his chest. From there, the heat had spread, roasting him alive and from the inside. From the forensic inspections, it was obvious that it had been quick, yet horribly painful. Ibiki himself had been impressed, though it wouldn't do well in Interrogation where it was vital to keep the subject _alive_.

It wasn't just the presence of the handprints, though, that unnerved him. ANBU had quite meticulously gone over the site and had proceeded to announce that no other shinobi had been present. That left one option left: one of the children had done it.

Well, not the only option, but Sarutobi hardly thought that Roshi had committed suicide. And that conclusion was highly troubling. If either of those children had such a power, it had to be nurtured but kept secret. He wouldn't put it past Danzou to try something.

He thought about it for a minute. Whichever of the two had done it, it had been from some deep hidden power. Hinata was almost immediately ruled out. Her mother had been fiery and rambunctious, but the small heiress seemed to be timid, inheriting nothing of her mother's temperament, especially after her death. That left… Naruto. The Hokage rubbed his temple tiredly. This would not be simple.

The Kyuubi was widely known as the Nine-Tailed Youko, the gigantic fox that could topple and raise mountains and create enormous tsunamis with but a flick of the tail. What the world didn't know was that the bijuu was called, in some ancient stories, the incarnation of fire. He had heard of the gifts that some jinchuuriki obtained from their prisoners, but he had never observed Naruto displaying any such thing.

Well. It didn't matter. If Naruto was displaying signs of a power gotten from the fox, it had to be controlled. There was no other option. Sarutobi sighed. He had hoped for the boy to live as close to a normal life as possible, but he had been a naive fool. Even had he not been an orphan, the child would still be hated for the Kyuubi. Well, he had no choice: he would have to keep a closer eye on the boy, no doubt about it.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Deep in a sewer, raucous laughter was heard. The insufferable old man had gotten it right- partially so at least- and this new development could only help in making the host feared and strong.

The Kyuubi was plotting, and anything to come out of it could not be good.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto stirred and opened his eyes. He flinched out of reflex as he saw the shadowed figure looming over him, then relaxed when the silhouette resolved into the Hokage. "Ojii-san…" he said drowsily, and then shut his eyes when a wave of nausea assaulted him. "W-what happened?" he asked, stumbling over the words.

"It is alright, my dear boy," Sarutobi replied, smiling fondly yet sadly at Naruto. "You are in the hospital, now, and we are making sure that you are in good health." The six-year-old's mouth turned up at the corners into a smile and he coughed weakly.

"Heh. Is… is Hinata-chan OK?"

"She's fine, Naruto."

The blond grinned cheekily and happily before closing his eyes. ""That's...good…" Gentle snoring was heard from the bed as the Sandaime slowly stood up, eyes closed in resolution.

_Yes, Naruto, we will have much to talk about soon. I will do whatever I can to help you, now._

Sarutobi took one last glance at the peaceful child and turned, and left.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hiashi sat, troubled. Moonlight bathed his black hair in silver, and the stars glinted off his face as he stared up into the sky. A face flashed across his sight- and then it was gone. _Hana…_ He shook his head. Such things were gone, best forgotten.

The Hyuuga clan head glanced at the pale child breathing softly on the bed beside him. Her pale blue hair, too, reflected the mercurial light, and the room lay still as the seconds passed.

A door opened, and-

"Oh, my!" came the whispered gasp. "Hyuuga-sama! I-" The nurse was cut off by a wave of Hiashi's hand.

"It is of no consequence," he said harshly. "I will remain with my daughter for now. Please leave." The woman nearly fell over herself in her exit. Hiashi gave a mirthless chuckle. It would be ironic that he was finally turning his attention to his eldest. He had distanced himself from her, wanting her to be strong.

And so he had watched coldly as she, instead of springing free of her familial bonds, had been dragged down, weak and foolish.

Hyuuga Hiashi was a proud man, and not one to admit easily his mistakes. Yet… perhaps he could change their relationship somewhat. He owed his wife that much. _Hana_, he thought. _Why…? _He did not hear the gentle click of the door as a figure stepped in, closing the door softly, yet he sensed the man's presence. He turned soundlessly and bowed his head in a small gesture of respect. Sarutobi Hiruzen returned the favor, smiling sadly.

"How is she doing?" the old man asked, and there was no need to ask what "she" he was referring to.

"She is… stable." Hiashi paused for a moment then turned his unflinching glare onto the Hokage. "She is lucky that she was not injured badly. The iryou-nin (_medical ninja)_ tell me that she is simply in shock, with no more than bruises and a few cuts." His mouth turned downward and he bowed his head, the words staggering. "We were… lucky… that she was not treated in… other ways."

"Indeed," came the answer, and the Hokage's eyes burned with a rare-seen anger. His own fondness of children gave him fury at the very thought of such acts. "It is doubtful that she would have lasted… untouched… much longer." Hiashi flinched at the words, and raised his gaze to the Sandaime. "Indeed," continued the older man. "We were indeed lucky." He finished his words breathlessly, quietly, yet not so much that the clan head could not hear.

"How…" Hiashi's lips were dry and he drew in a slow breath as he attempted to finish the question. "How was that possible?"

Sarutobi looked over the Hyuuga male. He had been so carefree, once- but that was then, and now he was simply a cold shinobi. He supposed the loss of the Fourth, as well as the death of a wife could certainly affect one's persona, but-

"It is unknown exactly how the missing-nin Roshi Han was taken down," the Third said calmly. He noticed the younger man's eyes narrowing. So he hadn't missed it either. "The corpse, as you found it, was seemingly cooked from the inside." The medics had almost refused to look at the body, the state that it was in. "It is somewhat probable that he was taken by a rival shinobi who, by luck, missed the children." He didn't miss the short hiss of air when Hiashi spoke again.

"Sarutobi-sama, with all due respect, you know as well as I the unlikelihood of such an event." Hiashi's voice was suddenly tinged with an undercurrent of… Fear? Curiosity? Amusement? No matter. "If any ninja able to take down a B-class ninja was there, he would not have missed my daughter." Ah, so he refused to include Naruto in his statement. Apathy, perhaps?

Pale, pupilless eyes stared at the old man, awaiting a response. Sarutobi sighed and looked straight at the man. "So you also have suspicions, Hiashi?" He smirked as he saw the man stiffen.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," replied Hiashi, returning to his monotone, but not before a flicker of interest emerged again. "So… the Uzumaki?" It was neither a statement nor a question, yet Sarutobi understood. He breathed out slowly then replied.

"Yes," he said, leaning his palm on his forehead. Oh, how old age tired him. At times the headaches just wouldn't go away. But now…

Hiashi took in a quick breath. "But, still… how?" He was probing for information and they both knew it.

Sarutobi shook his head, but looked directly at the Hyuuga. "Let us just say," he began, "that young Naruto may have come into his inheritance as a jinchuuriki."

Hiashi was floored. "Does he… does he know?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "No, and I'm sure of it. However, from what I can tell, jinchuuriki may well develop 'abilities' at a young age, depending on the nature of their bijuu." He paused. "From what I gather, the Kyuubi has been mentioned in some ancient texts as having some dominion over fire… so that is what I assume has awoken in Naruto."

The color returned slightly to the Hyuuga head's face. "Is there any chance that-" But a shake of the old man's head, and the raising of his hand cut him off.

"Believe me, Hiashi-san, that the Kyuubi is well contained. I will check the seal myself later. In the meantime, though, I will watch him personally. That is to say ,that… recent events… have made certain things clear to me." And so the Sandaime got up to leave.

Hiashi watched the Hokage step through the threshold of the room and suddenly glanced at his small daughter, the image of his wife flashing across his vision once more. "Hokage-sama," he began. "I require… an advisory."

Sarutobi only turned and raised his eyebrow, a twinkle in his eye. "She does look like her mother, you know," he said. And then he was gone.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Within a day, Naruto was back at the Academy as if nothing had happened. Of course, all the teachers knew that _something_ had happened to the Kyuubi brat. Most of them were cursing the fact that he hadn't returned dead, yet some others were strangely contemplative. There were… rumors… that the boy had had something to do with the return of the Hyuuga heiress, but…

It was impossible, of course, but there was a strange sort of thoughtfulness present nonetheless. And so Umino Iruka decided to give Uzumaki Naruto a chance.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Rubbing his eyes, Naruto stumbled into the classroom. He looked blearily around the room and saw Hinata-chan sitting and looking at the board. _Good_, he thought, a grin on his face. He bounced over towards the girl and sat in the seat next to her. "Hi, Hinata-chan!" he exclaimed, eyes closed and mouth in a wide smile.

The pale-eyed girl jumped and stole a glance over at the blond beside her. "Ano… g-good morning, Naruto-san."

Naruto frowned. "Hey, we're friends, remember?" Hinata froze, an image of her father's cold visage emblazoned on her vision before it was replaced by the cheery Uzumaki.

She smiled softly. "Ano… I think I'd like that, Naruto-kun." She prodded her fingers together. "Friends…" she murmured softly, beyond even Naruto's range of hearing. Just then, the teacher walked in.

"Good morning, class," said Iruka, Mizuki following close behind into the classroom. "Today we'll be looking at how the Shodai came to find the area where he would create the village using the fabled Mokuton…" His voice drawled on and Naruto found himself getting bored. He flopped forward onto his desk, chin on his hands.

He tried to remember what had happened the days before. He had remembered being with Hinata-chan, eating lunch, and then there was this big mean enemy ninja who grabbed him, and then… nothing. He had some thoughts of a kind of pain, but… the most he could call up was the sight of Hinata-chan, about to be hurt and- blankness.

He frowned again. He didn't like not remembering stuff. How could he get by if he didn't know what had already happened? It happened too much and he didn't like it, and each time he seemed to end up in the hospital. He didn't like the hospital much- the doctors tried to ignore him and the nurses were mean.

"Uzumaki!" Iruka shouted. The poor demon-container only had time to yelp and jump up, falling out his chair and onto the floor. The class erupted into giggles. Naruto grinned sheepishly before getting up and sitting back down.

"Naruto," said Iruka sternly. "Are you going to pay attention or not?"

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei," said Naruto quietly.

The chuunin's expression softened slightly. "It's alright, Naruto," he said. He turned back to the board, missing the shocked and surprised look that the blond gave him for his leniency, as well as the glare that passed across his assistant's face aimed at the boy. "Now, as I was saying…"

Naruto blinked once before settling back into his seat. Maybe… maybe school would be okay after all.

This time, nobody noticed the warm breeze drifting lazily throughout the room.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A week passed and the students learned more about the life of a ninja. It was barely anything compared to what it would actually be like, but it gave them a taste nonetheless. The student's were still obsessed with the ideal of "super-cool" shinobi and Iruka had no notion of disabusing the impressionable children of that blissful concept anytime soon.

Naruto stared out the window as the other children chattered excitedly. He and Hinata had talked a few more times since the incident, and she was nice, but a little shy too. He thought about it for a second, then brightened. _Aha!_ If he could get more friends, then maybe she wouldn't be so quiet! It probably wasn't a good thing to be that quiet, and would do all that he could to get to be a better friend with her. And Uzumaki Naruto never broke his promises. Unbeknownst to his conscious mind, a thought prodded at him before dissolving in mist- _you're only this interested in her 'cause she's the first one who ever was nice to you beside ojii-san_.

As he ran happily over to her during recess, he didn't notice the masked ANBU watching him from a tree.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

That night, as Naruto slept, softly snoring, his mind was elsewhere. As his body slept, his consciousness awoke, but not in his bedroom. He was half-asleep, still, and so was confused, but curious. "Wha…" he began. "Where am I?" His answers were met with silence until he looked around him and noticed his surroundings.

He was in a hallway, an area that somehow seemed… familiar, in a way that was strange but also made him fearful. "Hello?" he called out, short legs sloshing through the murky water on the ground that reached his waist. The crimson lights, that once again seemed so eerie yet also inviting flickered, drawing shadows across his face. He reached the end of the hall and gasped and stepped back as he saw what lay at the end- a giant room, stretching across his vision, ceiling reaching huge heights. He stared at the opposite side and blinked- a cage and a sneering face passing across his vision, a sneering face- a muzzle?- then pain, pain, pain-

He noticed he was on his knees then slowly got up and took the room in.

Unlike what his subconscious had told him to expect, the light ended here. Instead of a bloody fire illuminating the walls, the room was instead bathed in blackness, the only source of light appearing to be streams of brightness, touching onto five separate parts of the room. Naruto squinted; he could see what appeared to be five figures standing still in each of the beams of light. "Hello?" he called again, but the figures didn't move. He cautiously moved towards one of the taller ones and looked up- as he approached, it seemed to grow, filling his whole vision until he stood before it, mouth slightly open as he gazed up in the face that he now realized lay nearly even with his own.

He looked and saw… _something._ Something familiar.

The statue looked confident, mouth set in a smirk, spiky hair flying in all directions, and for a brief second, a wave of heat washed over him and he felt the flame of red, and then-

It was gone.

Naruto closed his eyes slowly and felt to the floor, fading from his mindscape as the statues watched, still frozen into position.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Far away, in separate locations, things stirred. Four pairs of eyes slowly opened and stared forward emptily before closing again. Then, everything was as it was again, with only a vague whisper present on the wind.

"…_consequences…"_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

AN: Hello, my adoring fans, and welcome to the next installation of _Naruto of the Five Elements_! I'm really sorry for not updating, and so have discovered that I can't be trusted with a schedule- at least, not until school is over and summer is here, anyway.

On another note, this will not be a "Naruto get's kickass and beats on Orochi, Madara, etc." fic. There will be other forces, involving not only the other bijuu, most likely, but also to do with the final scene of this chapter. Kyuubi is known as the Incarnation of Fire in some circles, true, but there are other things not meant to be shared.

By the way, not sure what happened with Hinata and Hiashi. I was only planning on using her for that one scene and maybe foe Naruto's team, but they just kind of shoved me aside and sat there. I guess this chapter's as much as filler as anything.

Finally, I'd like to encourage you all to take a look at my story _And Let the Chaos Come_. It's the prologue for another project of mine called _Kami no Naruto_, which will be a trilogy of sorts, with three parallel stories which will then meet up in one final book. First chapter(s) going up soon, and so I highly encourage you to check it out. I'm actually kinda disappointed with how it's been received, but… ah, well.

Have fun, mes amis, and see you soon! R&R, please- even just a word will do!

SoS


	4. Chapter 3: Discoveries

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Chapter 3

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The next day, Naruto went back to the Academy. Questions abounded, especially from curious students and teachers, but Naruto, forbidden by the Sandaime (as well as ignorant of the true events himself) could not tell them anything.

Hinata also returned, and, though she still stuttered frequently, was often encouraged by Naruto. Although the blond still was viewed as hopeless, he still tried as well, if only to impress his new friend.

The teachers continued to ignore the jinchuuriki, most likely in hopes that, if left untaught, Naruto would just give up. So, Naruto remained ignorant for the most part, though he was also self-taught in many other areas, trying clumsily to replicate what he had seen others do.

And so years passed.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

As time went by, Naruto began to mature, somewhat, into a hardworking student. Still pushed aside, he did have one friend: Iruka.

Beginning when Naruto was nine, Iruka, also, began to open up to Naruto, taking him out to ramen a few times. After being glomped hugely by the hyperactive jinchuuriki, Iruka began to listen to Naruto's thoughts and complaints. Even though he knew that he couldn't wave a hand and make life easier for the boy, Iruka still felt guilty for looking at the Uzumaki as just another troublemaker, seeing some parallels between their lives.

So the scarred chuunin helped Naruto when he could, gradually strengthening their bond almost to the point of brothers. He was there for Naruto, sharing stories of his parents, even though a small voice tugged at the back of his mind that he was helping his parents' killer. He ignored the voice, and it went away eventually, only leaving a small nagging at the bottom of his thoughts.

Hinata began to come out of her shell, and she and Naruto became good friends, only drifting apart when, at age ten, Naruto began his infamous crush on Sakura. They still talked, occasionally, though Hinata was disappointed that her friend wasn't spending as much time with her.

Naruto trained, even when so discouraged by the villagers that he wanted to give up and scream. Fortunately, no event such as the one that happened when he was six ever re-occurred, whether due to fear of the Hokage's wrath, or for some other reason. But Naruto was still left alone, not beat physically, but socially and emotionally, having only a few friends, almost completely isolated where other children would have whole circles of friends and acquaintances.

But whenever Naruto felt like giving up, a voice always rose up in his mind, giving him confidence, and so he persevered. Whether a touch of warmth, giving him the will to try again, or a brush of wind, blowing away his misconceptions, he tried his best to remain strong, throwing himself into his training, clumsy and unhelped as it was.

The Sandaime, true to his word, kept a wary eye on young Naruto, visiting him at his apartment weekly. Naruto was always overjoyed to see his "jiji-san" and would babble happily for over an hour on the awesome ninja stuff he was learning, before Sarutobi would smile kindly, bow his head, and leave.

He continued watching the Uzumaki, but never again was there an incident like there had been during the kidnapping. Although some chuunin instructors reported strange happenings going on around the boy, it was never enough to fully arouse suspicions, and so Naruto remained unwatched for the most part.

Hyuuga Hiashi watched Naruto warily, waiting for a time when he might be useful to the clan. The shock of having his child kidnapped a second time pulled a reversal of his personality, somewhat, and though he was never a completely loving father, he would encourage his daughters gently, instead of harshly yelling at them for failure.

Finally, the day of the Academy graduation exam came, and with it came worries and excitement.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Bouncing to school that day, Naruto could barely contain himself. The day, which he had worked toward for years, was finally here! He mentally gave a cheer- nothing could stop him once he was a ninja! He sped into the classroom where his classmates were waiting for Iruka-sensei to begin the test.

He waved at Hinata who waved back, and, for some reason he couldn't guess, turned red and waved back. _Huh. She's been doing that a lot lately. Maybe she's sick?_ Still grinning widely, he jumped up to the seat to the side of the room, right next to Sakura.

Sitting down, though, Naruto was interrupted by Sakura's screeching. "Naruto-baka! That's Sasuke-kun's seat!" And, speak of the devil- there was Uchiha Sasuke himself, smirking down at Naruto who just moved over while the Uchiha sat down.

_Hmph. What's so great about him anyway?_ Naruto grumbled to himself as he fidgeted, looking at the kids who he had, effectively, grown up with. There was Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru, who he had often skipped school with, though they weren't _that_ close, anyway. There was Hinata and Ino, the latter doing something with her hair. And then there was Shino, just sitting quietly with his trenchcoat pulled up to cover his face. _That guy just gives me the creeps._

Iruka entered the room, face drowning in the pile of paperwork he was carrying, closely followed by Mizuki-sensei. Naruto scowled- he didn't really like the guy. After all, he had just helped all the other teachers ignore and belittle him in the hopes he would leave. As his assistant went to set the papers down on the desk, Iruka turned and addressed the class.

"Now, everyone, today, as you all know, is the Academy Graduation Exam. You will be tested on your skills in the parts of a ninja's repertoire, like stealth, weapons, taijutsu, academics, and ninjutsu. Now come outside so we can test you." The students filed out, while Naruto mentally was bubbling with excitement. Stealth was his best section- after all, who else had escaped from ANBU at age eight after pulling a prank?

Naruto, for once, got top marks on the stealth portion, though he missed his teachers' twitches as they fumed over the Kyuubi-brat's passing grade.

Next came weapon throwing, and though he wasn't as good at it, Naruto could usually hit the target. He reached for a kunai and picked it up. _Huh, it feels kinda weird._ Shrugging the feeling off, Naruto threw it- and missed the target entirely. His mouth dropped open and he tried again, this time with shuriken. Every single one missed.

Spinning around in shock, Naruto caught the smug smirk on the face of one of the chuunin instructors. He made to protest to Iruka, who only frowned and shook his head in disappointment before he could even say anything. "I'm sorry, Naruto. Maybe you should just practice more." And then he left, leaving Naruto dumbfounded.

And then came taijutsu, where each student was paired up with an instructor. Unfortunately for Naruto, he wasn't paired up with Iruka- Sakura was- and he was stuck with Mizuki.

"Begin," said Mizuki, smirking evilly, and Naruto charged, slipping into the bastardized forms of the Academy taijutsu style that he had managed to learn. Mizuki easily sidestepped and Naruto almost fell over, skidding to a halt. Flushing as he ignored the other students' laughter, Naruto leapt at Mizuki, who blocked his kick with an arm before sweeping out the jinchuuriki's feet from under him.

Naruto began to get frustrated and ran at Mizuki, seeing red, arms and legs swinging ferally as he snarled. The chuunin looked surprised for a second before a caught Naruto with a backhand to the head, and the Uzumaki fell over on the ground as Mizuki shook his head mockingly. He made to shout at the unfairness- teacher's weren't supposed to attack _back_, only block! - but before he could open his mouth Iruka whistled for everyone to come inside for the next part of the test.

Head downcast, Naruto trudged inside with the rest.

As Mizuki went around passing out papers, he made a single handseal before handing Naruto his test, smirking before passing on. Naruto gaped at his paper in confusion, not understanding a word that he read. _Find the parabola of this quadratic equation? What the hell?_ "Iruka-sensei!" he called out, but the man just looked at him and ordered him to be quiet.

When Iruka went around to collect the tests, Mizuki just sat and dispelled the genjutsu he had placed over Naruto's test. Seeing Naruto's blank paper, Iruka just picked it up and looked at it sadly before moving on to get the rest of the papers, not noticing the blond's dumbfounded expression.

"Finally, ninjutsu. Everyone line up at the side of the room. Each of you will come one by one into this side room where we will administer the test to you. First, Aburame Shino."

As the line got progressively shorter, Naruto started to panic. He was already failing, and if they chose Bunshin for the test, he didn't think he could pass. _No! Think positive! This will __**not**__be like the last two times!_ He mentally prayed for henge no jutsu to be the final test.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Sweating, Naruto slowly walked in the door, seeing Mizuki and Iruka sitting behind a desk, waiting for him. On the side of the desk stood several hitai-ates, awaiting someone to earn them. _Alright. I can do this! _Gulping, Naruto went to stand in front of his senseis.

"Okay Naruto," Iruka began. "Please make three Bunshin to pass."

Instantly, everything came crashing down. _Bunshin? But he knows that's my worst technique._ Naruto looked up and saw Iruka with a solemn look in his eye, and knew he had no choice.

"Bunshin no jutsu!" he called out, hands in the Ram seal. There was a puff of smoke, and then-

"I'm sorry, Naruto. You can't pass."

Naruto stood, looking in shock and sorrow at the one pathetic clone that he had managed to produce, lying there half-dead and alone. _No…_ he thought, and he knew it would be hopeless to protest.

"You know," said Mizuki, "He did manage to produce one clone. Maybe we should let him pass." Naruto's heart leapt out of his chest and he thought, for one second, that he'd be allowed to pass- before it all came crashing down.

"I'm sorry Mizuki, but Naruto only managed to produce one clone, and a very bad one at that," Iruka said, shaking his head sadly. "I'm sorry Naruto. You fail."

And Naruto trudged out.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sitting on the swing by the yard of the Academy, Naruto watched emptily as the other kids walked out proudly and were congratulated by their parents. He could only wish for parents of his own, because at times like this… he bowed his head to his chest, trying to block out the whispers that were coming from the adults who were looking at him.

"_Heh, can you imagine letting __**that**__ become a shinobi?"_

"_Yeah, good thing he failed."_

"_What a loser."_

"_Good thing that monster couldn't become a ninja."_

"_Freak!"_

Crying silently, Naruto ran away to elsewhere in the village, trying to ignore the jeering faces and hurtful words.

From inside the Academy, a blue-haired chuunin watched him go and smirked, the beginnings of a plan forming.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto sobbed quietly on the roof of the Academy, watching the sun set. As if the sun represented his hopes and dreams, with every inch it moved closer to the ground, he felt another weight on his heart. He curled up in a ball and just wished to melt away into the ground.

"Naruto?"

Naruto stiffened and looked around. _Who's that?_ "Oh," he said. "Hey, Mizuki-sensei."

The chuunin smiled and sat down next to Naruto. "I'm sorry you didn't pass, Naruto," he said. Naruto grunted.

"You know, Iruka never wanted to fail you. I guess you just reminded him too much of himself, and so he wanted you to be able to be the best before you could graduate."

"But- why?" Naruto choked out. "He _knew_ how much I needed to pass, and…"

"Naruto, Iruka can't just let you pass. He likes you, but he can't just break the laws of the village. Do you understand?" Naruto nodded quietly.

"You know, Naruto," Mizuki said, a sly smirk crossing his face. "There _is_ an extra-credit assignment that you could do in order to graduate anyway."

"Really?" Naruto exclaimed, his heart leaping up.

"Yep!" said Mizuki, a smile on his face. "We don't often give it out, and it's top secret. But, I've seen what you can do, and I think you've got what it takes. Iruka himself recommended you for it."

By now, Naruto was listening to Mizuki intently, stars glittering in his eyes. "So what do I have to do?" _Maybe Mizuki isn't all bad._

_I've got you now, _Mizuki thought as he eyed the entranced blond. "Well, let's see. There's this scroll…"

_Yes, part one complete._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

There was quiet and darkness in the room, the only sound being the scratching of a pen on paper. Sarutobi rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock. _Ugh, two hours to go_. He resumed filling out his paperwork.

The door opened. "Ah, Naruto! What are you doing here-"

"OIROKE NO JUTSU!"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto cackled as he leapt out of the window of the Hokage's office. "Heh! I've got the scroll!" _Now,_ he thought. _What was I supposed to do now…_ He brightened. _Aha! I've gotta meet Mizuki-sensei at the forest in a few hours! Alright_. Rubbing his hands together gleefully, Naruto made for the forest.

Landing in a small clearing, Naruto looked around. _Hm. Looks like nobody's around. So…_

Naruto took the scroll off his back and opened it up. "Okay! Now, which super-awesome move should I learn first?" Seeing the first thing on the scroll, Naruto groaned. "_Kage_ Bunshin? That's my worst move!"

_Oh, well,_ he thought. _Maybe this version will be easier._ And so Naruto busied himself trying to learn this new technique.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Iruka turned over on his bed, still feeling guilty over failing Naruto. _I hope he can forgive me, but…_ A knocking at the door interrupted his thoughts. He went over to open it.

"Mizuki?" Iruka asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Suddenly, Iruka noticed that his assistant was out of breath and looked panicked.

"It's Naruto!" exclaimed the blue-haired chuunin. "He's-he's stolen the forbidden scroll of seals!"

"What?" Iruka stood there, shocked. He could never have imagined that this would happened. "Do you know where-"

"C'mon!" interrupted Mizuki. "We've got to find him!" And he took off, leaving Iruka behind.

_Naruto… what have you done?_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto breathed hard and folded up the scroll. _Heh, so I finally got it down. Now, I'll…_

"Naruto!"

Naruto spun around and saw Iruka jumping towards him. "Iruka-sensei! I found you!"

"No, you idiot, I found you!" Then Iruka noticed the disheveled state of Naruto's clothes. "What have you been doing here? You've gotta give me the scroll!"

"Nuh-uh!" Naruto answered. "I've been training! Mizuki-sensei said that if I learned a technique from this scroll, then you'd pass me!" He looked at Iruka expectantly, who was now frozen in place.

_Training? Wait…Mizuki?_ Suddenly, Iruka heard a whizzing noise and he whipped his head around. "Naruto, look out!"

The Uzumaki leapt aside in confusion. "Iruka-sensei, wha-?" Then he saw the other person present. "Mizuki-sensei!"

"Mizuki!" Iruka spat, and the other chuunin grinned evilly.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

_You are the Nine-tailed fox that destroyed the village twelve years ago!_

Naruto froze in shock and pain. How? But then he looked at Iruka and saw the man standing still, head downcast. "No… Naruto breathed, and he knew it would be worthless ot deny it. All the stares, the hatred, even the incident six years ago.

Now it made sense, the half-looks that Iruka had always given him over the years. He knew that his brother/mentor hadn't always been _entirely_ comfortable around him… so maybe he still hated him for killing his parent? His mind screamed no, but in his soul he was willing to accept.

Maybe… maybe he deserved it? _No!_ But the thought was to strong, and he curled up in a ball, wishing for reality to leave him be, so he could just die and be left alone, and-

**Thwack!**

Naruto looked up with shaking eyes and saw Iruka there, leaning above him, a giant shuriken lodged in his spine. "W-why?" he choked out, but Iruka could only smile sadly as tears ran down his face.

"Because… you are Uzumaki Naruto, and you are not the Kyuubi. I'm…sorry Naruto, for all this time, keeping it away from you."

"Ha!" shouted Mizuki. "But it's worthless, you know. Naruto's going to take this scroll and get his revenge on the village! That's what a demon would do!"

"No," said Iruka, standing up slowly and taking the shuriken out form his back. "He is not the fox. He is… Uzumaki Naruto… and he is… a shinobi of Konoha."

Mizuki only smirked wildly. "Aw, how touching. But now- it's time to die!" And he flung another shuriken at Iruka- but this one was blocked by a kunai. "Huh?" Mizuki wondered, before spotting Naruto on a branch, a dark look on his face.

"You… you do **not touch Iruka-sensei." **Naruto growled out. "**And whatever you do to him, I'll give you back a thousandfold. Hah!**" And he put his hands together in an unfamiliar seal, and Iruka for a moment wondered what it was.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Naruto shouted, and Iruka was shocked. _He learned such a high-level move in just a few hours? How-?_ But Naruto wasn't done.

An aura of burning light grew up around Naruto and Mizuki backed up a few steps. _What? The brat's chakra is actually visible!_

Suddenly, the traitorous chuunin was surrounded by a thousand Narutos- though these weren't ordinary shadow clones.

They were all colored differently, some in red, with clothes blazing crimson. Others were green-eyed, like the trees, and stood tall and proud. A third group stood at the ready, their collective hair glinting silver and blowing gently in the moonlight. Still more raised their fists, a yellow aura crackling around the limbs. A final group stood silently, colored a deep blue with eyes deeper than the oceans.

"**Don't you ever touch Iruka-sensei again!" **shouted the original, still enshrouded in that blazing white light, and the thousand Narutos leapt forward, fists crackling and roaring with energy. Iruka could only watch, dumbfounded, as Mizuki was routinely charred, crushed, sliced, shocked, and drowned, over and over. what was left at the end was barely recognizable as a ninja.

And then, Naruto collapsed. "Naruto!" shouted Iruka, and he ran towards the blond.

"Heh," chuckled Naruto weakly. "I… got… him." And he closed his eyes and slept.

Iruka took off running.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

In his office, the Sandaime sat silently, pleased, yet troubled. It seemed that something had changed with Naruto once more, and whatever it was, it couldn't be ignored.

Sarutobi sat quietly in the tower, and thought.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto woke up in darkness.

_Drip_.

_Drip._

"Who's there?" he called out, and was rewarded for his questions when five silhouettes stepped out from the shadows.

"Who are you guys?"

The one in the front smirked at Naruto. "We've been waiting for you… Prime."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

AN: Done!

R&R! IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT!

;-)

-SoS, out!


	5. Chapter 4: Meetings

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

_The one in the front smirked at Naruto. "We've been waiting for you… Prime."_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Chapter 4

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Huh?" Naruto asked in confusion. "What do you mean, 'Prime'? And you still didn't answer me- who are you guys?" He turned his head from side to side, taking them in, but unable to get a clear view- they were still mostly shrouded in darkness.

One chuckled. "He cannot see us perfectly, yet, can he Kaji?" he said in a rough voice.

Another shook his head. "I guess not." The figure shrugged, then looked around at the others. "Let's make it a bit easier for him, shall we?" And with that, the shadows rescinded.

Naruto's breath caught in his chest. At first, he hadn't noticed on body shape alone, but now… Now, it was like he was looking into a mirror, five mirrors to be exact. For standing right in front of him were what seemed to be five reflections of himself, standing in a semicircle around him- though, as he took them in, they weren't exactly the same person that he was.

The first, all the way to the left, was heavyset, with maybe two inches of height more than the original. His eyes were a deep murky brown, and his hair was streaked with brown and green. Wearing a dark green shirt emblazoned with a symbol of a leaf, along with a pair of black slacks, this version carried himself with near-perfectassurance and toughness. Naruto almost gulped- if he met himself looking like this, he would know to back off.

The next one, all the way to the right, looked completely opposite to the Naruto that the original had just taken in. This one was smaller and thinner than the normal one, with longer limbs and a flexible body. His hair was run through with silver and grey, and his eyes, silver and flecked with purple, glinted mischievously. Smiling cheekily, he wore a white vest; under which was a grey shirt with a black spiral in the Uzumaki crest.

To the side of the first one stood a third Naruto, this one carrying itself tall, yet somewhat sternly. Running through his hair were streaks of blue and purple and his eyes were deep pools of oceans and ice, even deeper than the original's. He wore a simple blue kimono, and just by looking, the original knew that every movement he made would be graceful. Though he looked stern, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The fourth reflection made a much greater impression. Though his hair was the same shockingly bright yellow as the original's, it all stood straight up, waving uncontrollably in all directions. His eyes were bronze and gold, and his grin was more than just a little crazy. Every few moments he would tense and relax, eyes brightening then fading. From the neck down, he wore a bright yellow _gi_, decorated with bolts of lightning on the sleeves.

The final one, though, was quite clearly the leader. Standing only an inch shorter than the first, he carried himself with utmost confidence and a hint of smugness. His huge smirk reflected the feeling in his eyes, which were burning flames as red as those of the Kyuubi, carrying within them a spark of rebelliousness, as well as a feeling of _life_. Like the others, his hair was not normal; instead, it was exactly the same as the original, but stained blood-red, with shaggy bangs tugging down the sides of his face. He wore an orange trench coat with flames licking the bottoms and sides.

Everything was quiet, and then, Naruto spoke.

"How…how is this possible? What are you?" His tone was only slightly accusatory; he was honestly confused as to why they were there. The one in the middle sighed loudly and spoke again, once more acting like their leader.

"So you want to know who we are, huh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a self-satisfied smirk.

"Of course I do!" Naruto groaned, irritated. "I've only asked it like three times already!"

"Fine." The response was short and fine cut. "I," the red-haired one said, giving an exaggerated bow. "I am Kaji." The torches on the walls seemed to flare for a moment, but then they settled down.

The brown-clad one moved forward. "I am Tsuchi," he said quietly, and the ground seemed to tremble before he, too, stepped back.

"I'm Kaze!" the silver-haired one said loudly. "Nice to meet'cha!" A breeze blew down through the space, and he grinned widely as it ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Mizu," pronounced the one wearing the blue kimono, and the water level in the hall rose, and then receded. He eyed Naruto warily, though there was a bit of amusement there, too.

"Yo. I'm Raikou!" said the last one excitedly. "I'm sure we'll get along _just fine_." As if to emphasize his point, a spark of electricity traveled down his fingertips and he grinned maniacally.

"So now you know our names," Kaji said, smirking. "We can get down to business."

"What do you mean, 'business'," Naruto asked suspiciously. "I mean, one minute, I'm asleep in bed, and the next, you just show up out of nowhere?" He shook his head. "Nope. Not buying it."

"We are here for a reason you know," Mizu said harshly. "However, I you really do not understand how we are here, I will provide some… foreplay to our meeting tonight. Kaze!" The small Kaze jumped to attention and waved his hand lazily… and the landscape dissolved.

_What the…_ Naruto thought- and then everything blurred back to being, though the world seemed to exist in monotone, as if in an ethereal tone of semi-existence. Suddenly, a large object flew past him and Naruto jumped to the side on a reflex. His eyes widened- _What?_- but then he realized what it was: a giant fuuma shuriken, just like the one that Mizuki had used against Iruka-sensei earlier that night.

_But how-_ Naruto was cut off as he caught something else out of the corner of his eye. His breath caught- there was Iruka-sensei, standing up to Mizuki-teme, the traitor still holding a shuriken at the ready. And there, at the bottom of a tree trunk, sat himself, paralyzed with fear and confusion. Naruto gasped again. _What's going on? Could it be-?_

"Ah, so I see that you've figured it out," Kaji said lazily, appearing next to Naruto to look down on the scene unveiling before them. "You were right: this isn't happening 'now' as you see it; what we're looking at is merely a recoding. So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show." He snapped his fingers, and at that moment, Naruto realized why he had been shown this.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

Instantly, the clearing was filled with clones, but not just any normal shadow clones. Naruto froze. Staring down at Mizuki with undisguised loathing and disgust, were thousands of Naruto lookalikes, the crowd filled with multitudes of not only Naruto clones, but also ones of Kaji, of Kaze, of Mizu, of Tsuchi, and of Raikou. Blazing with their respective attributes, he watched in near-admiration as they pummeled Mizuki into submission, the real one watching with satisfaction.

The image grayed out into blackness.

"So, Naruto," Kaji said lightly. "Do you realize what you did there, earlier?" The insulting tone was gone, though his voice was still a bit patronizing.

Naruto shot him a glare, but answered anyway. "Fine. Anyway, it was like, instead of just making clones of _me_, I also somehow… summoned _you_ and made clones of you as well. Does that make any sense?" he finished, looking at Kaji for confirmation.

Kaji chuckled. "Got it in one."

"Now," he said, entirely serious now. "There was another time when you used our power. Can you remember it?" At Naruto's confused expression, Kaji groaned and decided he would have to prod the kid a bit more. "The kidnapping incident?"

Naruto's expression brightened. "Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed. "But… what did you do?"

Kaji's face darkened. "See for yourself."

Darkness.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

_Confusion- where was he going?_

_Pain- why?_

_Torture- it hurts…_

_Why?_

_Consciousness fading, in… and out…_

_Darkness._

_Awake again… moving… flying through the trees…_

_Fear…_

_Threat… what?_

_Danger! Hinata-chan!_

_NO!_

_**Slicing, blades cutting, falling to pieces, cuts bleeding- FREE!**_

_**Need…fast...speed…NOW!**_

_**BURN!**_

_Unconscious…_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto groaned and shook his head. He was back in the hallway, with his five reflections staring back at him expectantly. "So… that was you guys?"

Kaji gave a slight nod. "Somewhat. You see, in that high-stress situation, as well as what happened earlier tonight, you are able to draw upon our powers to aid yourself. In time, you might be able to develop these abilities more, but…" He spread out his arms in resignation. "Whatever. So, question of the day: what are these powers that we possess?" Kaji stood there, smirking.

Tsuchi. _Big and strong, rock-hard and steadfast…_

Kaze. _Flighty, small and quick…_

Mizu. _Tall, flexible, and cold…_

Raikou. _Energetic and crazy, mischievous…_

Kaji. _Leader, impassioned, burning eyes of flame…_

Naruto's head snapped up. "I've got it," he said.

Mizu raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" he questioned, awaiting a response.

"Yeah," said Naruto, at first unsteadily, but then gaining confidence. "You represent the elements, right?" No answer. "Okay, then…"

"Tsuchi," Naruto said. "You're Earth."

"Kaze. Wind."

"Mizu is Water."

"Raikou is probably Lightning."

"And Kaji," Naruto said, finishing it. "You're Fire."

Silence.

Then…

Clap. Clap. Clap.

"Good job," Kaji said approvingly. "What gave it away?"

Naruto shrugged. "Pretty much everything, I guess," he said. "Your appearance, your personality, the 'special powers'…" He smirked. "It all just added up."

"Indeed," said Mizu softly. His eyes narrowed. "Kaji," he said. "Will you tell him from where we came?"

The fire spirit gave a snort of derision. "Fine, fine, whatever. Geez." He rolled his eyes at Mizu and Kaze giggled.

"Alright, 'Prime'-"

"Wait!" Naruto interrupted. "I heard you say that before. Why did you call me that and what does it mean?" His voice was inquisitive.

"It means 'center'," Tsuchi said quietly. "When the Kyuubi no Kitsune-"

"Hold it!" Naruto commanded. "What's the fox got to do with this?"

A flicker of annoyance passed over Tsuchi's face. "As I was saying," he went on. "We did not originally exist with you at birth, we were born when the Kyuubi decided it required a strong 'container'. You are familiar with the myths that the Kitsune could raise mountains and create tsunamis, correct?" Naruto nodded.

Raikou continued. "So," he said. "When old fuzzbag decided to help ya out, he gave you a little of his elemental power. He wasn't all muscle, ya know. He couldn't just give you his own chakra, though. Probably were too young to handle it, I guess." He shrugged. "So, he gave you a little of his elemental gift, hoping to get more power for you. Boom, hooray, whatever, and probably 'cause your mind was _already_ fragile, we split from your original soul and became self-aware."

"Now," Kaji went on. "To answer your original question, you were the mold from which we originated. So, you are the Prime, or 'center' of our being. It's pretty much just a title, or label." The fire spirit gave a noncommittal wave of his hand. "That's pretty much it."

"So, you guys are just parts of me?" Naruto questioned. Kaze nodded cheerily while Mizu facepalmed at Naruto's thickness. "And how exactly do you-"

"How exactly do we exist?" Kaji finished for him. When Naruto nodded, the fire spirit went on. "We're independently conscious of you, but we share a common power source; we just use it in different ways. That's what would make it possible for you to learn from us."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Learn from you guys? You mean-?"

"Yeah, yeah," interrupted Raikou, cutting him off. "Maybe eventually you'll be able to draw on our power independently, but for now you'll just hafta deal with summoning us to do the dirty work for ya."

"How do I do that?" Naruto asked.

Raikou's grin was feral. "You'll see." In a crackle of lightning, he vanished. Naruto thought he heard Tsuchi muttering something about 'damn show-offs', but couldn't be sure.

Kaze was the next to go. "See ya!" he announced happily, and disappeared in a gust of wind.

Mizu gave him a firm nod then vanished in a swirl of water, followed by Tsuchi, who melted into the rocky floor of the hallway.

Kaji spoke up next. "Well, it looks like we're done here, so… adios!" he announced, and Naruto felt himself falling… then everything went black.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto woke up in his bed, breathing heavily. _Was that really…?_ Then he noticed something sitting on the blanket before him, and his breath caught.

There, lying between his legs, sat his Konoha shinobi headband, his hitai'ate. But it wasn't as he had left it before he went to bed. No, it was markedly different.

In the middle, right where it had originally been, was the symbol for Konohagakure- the symbol of the leaf. But now there were other markings surrounding it, marking Naruto forever, and assuring the blond jinchuuriki that what had just happened was most definitely real.

Surrounding the leaf in a circle were five symbols: a tongue of flame, a teardrop of water, a cracked stone, a bolt of lightning, and a swirl of wind.

Questions moving through his mind, Naruto eventually fell asleep, albeit more confused and apprehensive than he had ever been. There was this to know, however: if there was more to the situation, then he could deal with it tomorrow.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Blackness.

_Drip._

"So whataya think of the brat? He might just do okay, but for now…"

Dim flickering light reflected off of shimmering water, though the rest lay shrouded in shadow and darkness.

_Drip_.

A growl. **"It is of no consequence. He will learn to harness his abilities, or else…"**

_Drip._

A laugh. "Yeah, whatever. What's got you all worked up?"

"**Things are stirring. Things that may not appreciate the steps I have taken in this situation."**

"Like what? You mean-" A pause. "Oh, you mean- oh, that's rich!" A snicker. "So the old guys are pissed at you?"

_Drip._

"**You would do well to hold more respect than that, brat. Suzaku is not to be taken lightly."**

"Fine, whatever."

Silence.

_Drip._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o


	6. NOTE

NOTE: I am not discontinuing this story, as I'm doing for Naruto no Hen'itai. Instead, I've simply decided that I don't like the timeline, and so will keep this up as a do a rewrite from the beginning- which, by the way, will be available as a separate story in my profile, at least until the new one is up-to-date, at which point, this one will be deleted. For now, be warned that there will be no updates for this story for a while, and instead look to the new one. Sorry, but this is just the decision that I've made.

- SoS


End file.
